Suicide by hanging under the influence of ketamine and ethanol

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Ricardo Jorge Dinis Oliveira (Author) FMUP; Felix Carvalho (Author) FFUP; Jose Alberto Duarte (Author) FADEUP; Ricardo Dias (Author) Other; Teresa Magalhaes (Author) Other; Agostinho Santos (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Forensic Science International

Vol. 202

Pages: E23-E27

ISSN: 0379-0738

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 20 Citations

Scopus - 24 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Other medical sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-1XX

DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.047

Abstract (EN): Psychiatric deviations resulting from alcohol and illegal drug abuse may be considered a major risk factor for suicidal behavior. This report describes a suicide by hanging, under the influence of ketamine and alcohol. The victim was a 29-year-old man, found dead hanging by the neck from a metallic beam in the ceiling of his workplace. Besides characteristic signs of hanging seen at the autopsy, toxicological analysis revealed a femoral blood concentration of ketamine and ethanol of 1.3 mg/L and 0.66 g/L, respectively. Positive qualitative results for ketamine were also detected, in a powder found near the victim and on the victim's nostrils, which suggests nasal inhaling as administration route. The hallucinogenic effects caused by ketamine, associated with an increased sensitivity of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors to ketamine as result of the previous history of alcoholism should be considered as potential inducing factors in suicide behaviors.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 5